This week on Need To Know, Mona and Jay welcome National Affairs editor Yuval Levin for a bracing discussion onRepublican renewal and how to get it, health care reform and the ramifications for both the right and left and a possible trap for the Democrat’s, and a look at where Republicans have opportunities to make gains in the future. For background, read Yuval’s Republican Renewal post on The Corner.

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This was an excellent and inspiring program. We should make an effort to convert the broad concepts discussed into appealing rhetoric, into “talking points,” and then undertake to seed our political discourse with that rhetoric.

I love Levin’s concise description of effects of the relatively cheap individual mandate “tax” and the required coverage of preexisting conditions on the overall cost of health insurance. Why should healthy people pay for insurance now when they instead can pay the cheap penalty now and get “insurance” after they discover an illness? Prices will skyrocket more than they have already.

I get involved in discussions Obamacare supporters who often force the argument into a sound bite battle. If you can’t explain your point in 15 seconds, you lose. Levin’s distillation will be a big help.

‘If the Republicans can explain….’ ‘ If the Republicans can take advantage…’ etc,etc , forget it ,we’re screwed. The Republicans NEVER miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

On a different subject, since the election I’ve heard and read Jay say over and over, ‘Well, the people have spoke’ or ‘Well, the people chose..’ this or that. My question is, what if they didn’t? What if it actually was stolen, more and more disturbing things are coming out every day. Several million middle class whites ‘didn’t show up?’, does that sound right to anybody. Is it possible that those votes went into the memory hole? Stalin’s words ‘ it doesn’t matter who votes , it matters who counts’

Rightfromthestart: Several million middle class whites ‘didn’t show up?’, does that sound right to anybody. Is it possible that those votes went into the memory hole? Stalin’s words ‘ it doesn’t matter who votes , it matters who counts’ · 1 hour ago

There are interesting discussions of the subject here and here. The ultimate upshot of this is that it seems to be concentrated among the white working class, who don’t like Obama for numerous reasons but were turned off by the attacks against Mitt Romney, rich plutocrat, Bain Capital, job destroyer, job outsourcer, out of touch, etc., etc., and thus simply didn’t vote.

Levin is shockingly naive. He thinks that, as a result of inevitable Obamacare pandemonium, voters will wake up and become willing to listen to rational arguments.

Wrong.

Obamacare and its attendant chaos are a logical point on our gradual progression from free market to socialized single payor. To the extent that reality kicks voters in the face, the left will easily convince a majority of them that there’s a Republican foot inside that boot.

Replacement of Obamacare with Obamacare-lite is no solution.

(There’s no particular logic to the turning of the political wheel. The important thing is to take advantage of one’s opportunity when the wheel does turn in one’s favor.)